You'll Be In My Heart
by MayFairy
Summary: John Porter never expected to find anything more than gorillas in the jungle he was visiting with his Professor parents and their hired protector Harry Saxon, and Aliya never thought that there might be creatures out there just as bald and strange looking as she was. Both were about to have their entire worlds shaken...by each other. HOotD Series Tarzan AU. Eleven/OC
1. Aliya: Strange Looking and Bald

**Tarzan AU featuring Aliya(OC)!Tarzan and Eleven!Jane (though in this case, John).**

**I have very little explanation for this plot bunny. Just seemed like some good fluffy fun. Will be short chapters.**

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The lizard narrowed its eyes at her. Inch by inch, the young girl crept closer until he was within her reach. Her hand darted out, but in a flash the small creature was gone from sight, and her skin grazed the bark of the log it had been perched on.

"Urgh!"

"Aliya?"

The small blonde child spun around to look bashfully at the gorilla who was her mother.

"Yes, Mother?"

"What are you doing?" Kala asked, a little too knowledgably.

Aliya stuck her toe into the dirt. "Trying to catch a lizard."

"Again? Why?"

"Because then I could prove to Terk that I'm fast just like her!"

"Can she catch a lizard?"

"I dunno. Maybe. She said she did once, but…"

Kala scooped her daughter up without another word, making the girl giggle and struggle rather half heartedly. "Are you really going to believe everything Terk says?"

"No!" She squealed as the tickling started. "No! Stop! But I thought if I could then she would think I was cooler. And then maybe Kerchak would like me better too."

Aliya didn't mean anything by it, she knew Kerchak didn't like her because she looked different, which seemed fair enough. But that didn't mean she was going to stop trying to impress him. It would be nice to have a dad like Kerchak. Maybe one day.

All the same, Kala looked saddened by her words. To try and fix that, Aliya leaned up and planted a great big kiss on her mother's dark nose.

"It's okay. You're all I need, mother, and I'll always love you the most even if Kerchak did start to like me."

"Not as much as I love you," Kala said fondly, nuzzling her cheek as she began to walk them back towards the nest.

"Even though I'm funny looking and bald?"

"Maybe even because you're funny looking and bald."

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**Reviews and feedback are much appreciated! **

**-MayFairy :)**


	2. John: Land Ahoy!

**And now we get to meet Team Porter/Team Doctor. **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, I love you guys! **

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John Porter gripped the ship's railing until his knuckles were white, not out of fear but out of exhilaration. After months of planning and traversing the ocean, they were finally here. Land was in sight and from the distance it looked to be just the kind of jungle they were hoping for.

_Maybe I'll really get to see one. A gorilla, right in front of me, with my own eyes!_

He got up on the middle bar of the railing and let his arms stretch out as if he were flying. As the wind whipped his floppy hair around his face, he laughed straight into the breeze with pure joy.

"John! Don't go over the edge now."

He looked over his shoulder to see his mother Maria, approaching with her navy parasol resting on her shoulders. When she took in his exuberant mood, her lined eyes crinkled into a smile that made her look ten years younger.

"Actually, I don't know why I bother," she said, sighing and brushing imaginary dust off her skirts, but not actually seeming cross, "It's not as if I could ever keep you from getting into trouble."

John hopped down from the railing and just grinned at her. "Not even you could do that, Mum."

"Thank you for the even." She chuckled. Her hand brushed a stray curl of greying brown hair behind her ear as she regarded him with thoughtful eyes that matched his exactly - right down to the same shade of green. "Oh, look at you. Twenty three and off discovering the world and helping contribute to the world of science already. I couldn't be prouder."

"Well, I've had very good teachers."

"I should think so," his father's voice said from behind him. Edmund Porter was of less words and many thoughts, but wasn't as stuffy as many believed him to be upon first impression. Many of his acquaintances joked that he had the demeanour of a man twice his age, but the intelligence and experience of such a man too. "The captain says that we should be landing within the hour. We've finally made it." Edmund's smiles were few and far between, but a small one graced his long face now.

"What do you think, Harry?" John called to his friend who had just emerged from the hold. "Is this going to be brilliant, or is this going to be mind bogglingly fantastic?"

Harold Saxon, or Harry for short, just shrugged and tapped his fingers on the gun at his hip. "Not exactly the adjectives I would use. But it should be pretty good."

John beamed. "That's the spirit, Harry. This wouldn't be half as fun without my best mate along with me."

"Yeah, well, someone's got to stop your over energetic arse from being trampled by wild beasts."

"I would never," John scoffed. "I'll have you know that I am very good at being stealthy. I am downright sly. They'd never know I was there."

"Sure."

Maria and Edmund shared an amused look. They were well used to John and Harry's banter. "Might as well get your things together for unloading, you two," the woman of the group told the youngest two. "We don't want to waste any time."

"Of course not," John agreed. He turned to go and pulled Harry with him. "Come on, Harry."

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**I have decided to go with Harry Saxon being John's friend despite being in the Clayton role of the AU, because it adds a little more emotional depth to the betrayal that will come later. **

**Reviews and feedback are awesome! **

**-MayFairy :)**

Anonymous Review Replies:

_RandomW_** - **Glad to know Tarzan was enough to reel you in. Hopefully Aliya is worth the risk. Hope to hear more from you! :)


	3. Aliya: Out With The Old, In With The New

**Grown up Aliya, and the arrival of the English. **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed! I love you guys! *blows kisses***

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The deadly leopard circled Aliya, its teeth bared in a snarl.

_It would love to kill me_, she thought to herself. _And any other gorrilla it comes across. I'll die before I let it get to the little ones. _

Kerchak had been wrestling with it when she'd come upon the scene, and the moment Kerchak faltered Aliya had gripped her spear and taken her chance. Above them, her family was making a clamour of supportive noises, which while inspiring, did little for her nerves.

_I have to outsmart it_. Aliya's hand reached into the tight strip of cloth that covered her chest and withdrew her emergency hand axe. She brought it behind her back and hoped that keeping it out of sight would put it out of Sabor's mind. This was the creature who had murdered Kerchak's and Kala's first child, so she had every intention of avenging her would-have-been sibling.

The animal lunged and she managed to hold it off with her spear while her other hand gripped the hand axe in preparation. With a final thrust of the spear to keep Sabor occupied, she brought the pointed rock down and slashed it across the leopard's throat. Blood sprayed across her face and she shoved the spotted body away from her and waited for it to bleed out.

The chorus of gorillas were howling with victory and pride swelled in her chest. Life with them was the only life she had ever known, but she knew that she had always been an outsider to them because of the fact that she was different. But hear them cheer her on...it made her feel like she really was just one of them.

There was one more thing to do. She knelt and heaved Sabor's body into her arms and walked until she could lay it at Kerchak's feet. She got onto her knees in front of the leader of the gorillas and bowed her head respectfully. For a moment or two she remained there before getting to her feet and walking away. One sneaky glance at Kerchak told her that he was certainly not rushing to accept her in a sudden change of heart, so there was no reason for her to linger.

She'd given up hope long ago of him wanting her for a daughter, but somehow it never failed to sting even with her being fully grown.

After aimlessly wandering for a while, she ended up heading back to the nest. Kala was happy to see her.

"That was quite something today," her mother said. "But reckless."

"I got very lucky," Aliya admitted. "But I had to try." She sat down in front of her and took a banana to start eating. "It was about time we were rid of Sabor."

"And now we are, thanks to you. I'm very proud." Kala reached out a large hand to ruffle Aliya's short but very fluffy hair. Aliya ducked her head and grinned.

She was about to say something when a booming noise like lightning crackled through the air. Both of them jumped in surprise, and turned to see a strange light fading from just above the end of the treeline, where the ocean was.

"What was that?" Aliya asked, jumping to her feet. "I've never heard anything like it."

"I don't know," Kala said uneasily.

"I want to get a closer look." Without another word, Aliya grabbed the nearest vine and swung her way through the jungle to see just what had made that terrible sound. A pattering of voices could be heard, and when she peered down through the tree layer, she was alarmed to see a whole group of creatures moving into the clearing below. Some carried large square objects under their arms, some carried small complex things, but all were enigmatic in the fact that they looked just like her.

Could it even be possible? She'd always thought she was some strange disfigured gorilla, a one in a million oddity. But perhaps not. What were these things, that resembled her in their pale baldness but walked on only their feet?

Two of the creatures seemed to be talking, but she couldn't understand their form of speech. What she did understand was the physicality of their interactions and how the one female of the group was touching the cheek of one of the youngest male ones. That was a mother and a child, she'd know it anywhere.

But just who were these strangers like her? She had to know.

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**It's REALLY weird writing Aliya as any kind of competent warrior. But, for the sake of the plot and under the gorilla and jungle raising circumstances, it makes sense for her to be at the very least not bad and kind of lucky. **

**Next chapter will finally see some John/Aliya interaction! Woo!**

**Reviews and feedback are appreciated! **

**-MayFairy**

Anonymous Review Replies:

_RandomW _- I try to avoid Mary Sues at all cost. I constantly run Aliya and a few of my other OCs through litmus tests and stuff to make sure they aren't Sueish. The main thing is to just make characters REAL. I've found that tends to remove Sueishness. But I know what you mean, there are some cringe-worthy Sues around, especially in the Doctor Who fandom. I do hope you like Aliya, it's great that you don't mind her so far. Thanks for the review and I am excited to keep hearing your thoughts on this! :)


	4. John: So Close And Yet So Far

**Ooh, I know I said short chapters but this one just had a lot more to cover and I couldn't split it up! Finally we get what is one of my favourite scenes if not my ultimate favourite scene in the movie. John and Aliya finally meeting! **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, I love you guys lots! :D**

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The moment John had stepped into the jungle, he'd known he would never want to leave. The place was so _alive_! Sure, London had its merits and was certainly enjoyable in a number of areas, but it could never compare with the raw beauty and power of nature.

All around them were the sounds of the jungle's inhabitants. What a joyful ruckus!

"Isn't it wonderful, darling?" Maria asked him, and he just nodded, for once not quite able to find words.

"Sounds like a whole lot of annoying noise to me," Harry complained, holding his gun a little tighter.

"It's the jungle, man, did you expect it to be quiet?" Edmund asked him, and Harry just rolled his eyes and kept walking.

Once they passed the clearing where the ship's crew was unloading their belongings, it only took about ten minutes for them to find a gorilla nest.

"It is, isn't it?" John practically squeaked. "A real, genuine gorilla nest."

"And just like I thought, family groups! See the others ones just there, and there!"

Maria touched her husband's arm. "Just like _we_ thought, Edmund." He nodded curtly, almost flushing. John figured the colour in his cheeks could also easily have been from excitement, which was fascinating because it was a word he had not thought his father was even familiar with until now.

As they continued to talk, John couldn't shake the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He glanced around, but saw no person or animal that could have been inspiring that feeling. Meanwhile, his parents and Harry had continued on through the forest. He was about to follow when he spotted an adorable little baby baboon perched on a nearby branch.

"Oh look at you," he said, grinning at it and bringing his face in closer, "You're as cute as a little button, aren't you?" A thought struck him and he pulled his sketchpad from his pocket. While praying the little guy didn't move, John whirled his pencil across the page until a sketchy but rather accurate drawing depicted the baboon in his book. He grinned and turned it around to show the animal. "What you reckon? I think it's not too bad. Not to blow my own horn or anything. If I had a horn."

The object of his creativity cooed at the piece of work and immediately snatched the book right out of his hands.

"Hey!"

He chased the monkey through the trees, trying not to cringe as he saw pages from the book fluttering to the ground in its wake. He eventually found the little rascal perched on another low branch apparently admiring the likeness of itself.

"Give that back!" John demanded. The baboon did not. "Oh wow, look at that!" The thing turned its head and gave him enough time to snatch the page from its tiny hands. It started making a horrible wailing noise, but he wasn't sympathetic. It was _his _sketch, after all. "Oh, shut up, it wasn't yours to begin with."

But a foul howling filled the trees above him and he saw a multitude of baboons baring their teeth down at him with rather obvious intent. He felt his heart quicken and cautiously began to step back, preparing to make a break for it.

"Now now, nice...colourful...evil...monkeys…" He stammered. They shrieked and began to pursue him, so he took off into the trees as fast as he physically could.

_Oh dear god, I've not been here half an hour and already I'm in big trouble! I really can't take myself anywhere, _he thought hopelessly.

He continued to sprint but could feel the horde of enraged monkeys gaining on him. All too late, he realised that the ground was about to disappear underneath him into a chasm and he could do nothing but fling himself forward and hope he would reach the other side.

When he did though...he found that he continued to propel forward, and not fall. That was when he realised something had grabbed a hold of the back of his coat and was carrying him. He twisted his neck only to see the most unexpected sight - a barely clothed blonde woman with one hand twisted around the vine that was carrying them and one hand firmly holding him up.

John heard himself yell with utter shock, and while the woman flicked a glance his way, she kept her focus on what lay ahead.

They flew through the air and landed on a huge branch of a tree on the edge of a cliff, with John in the strange woman's arms. He was about to protest and scramble to freedom until he saw that the baboons were still hot in pursuit. So instead, he gripped his savage rescuer tighter. They slid down the twisting and artful maze of branches and vines, with such speed that he felt himself getting queasy. A few times he was nearly dropped, but the woman always caught him and continued on without so much as blinking. One flight through the air resulted in him clinging to her back, which worked out well because she had more use of her arms after that.

A wrong turn had the monkeys at their heels - quite literally - and they found themselves tumbling down a great drop with the monkeys all around them suffering from the same dilemna. Luckily, the savage woman grabbed two vines and gripped them tightly until they slowed down and were able to swing to a nearby branch.

_That must have hurt her hands, _John thought with a flash of concern. Around them the monkeys fell down until they were well out of reach. _Thank god for that_.

That was when the log that had snapped above them and resulted in the fall of both them and the monkeys finally came down and snapped their current branch right off. Only a quick move on the mystery woman's part had them still safe and with steady footing. John was backed against a tree trunk with his rescuer's arms either side of his head. She was smaller than he was, but he could see subtle yet strong muscles all over her body. Her green eyes studied him intently, but a ruckus from below had her turning around and agitatedly yelling some incredibly odd animal noises of her own to the monkeys that had fallen.

Nearly half of John's curiosity transformed in concern in that moment. _I'm in a tree with a woman who talks to monkeys. I most definitely did not see this coming. _He tried to edge down around the tree. A small gap was to be crossed to get to the next tree, but he was reasonably sure he could make it. He stretched out his foot and planted it so that he was evenly split between the two trees and congratulated himself until he realised he was never going to get the center of gravity needed to actually make it all the way across. Still, he had to try. He brought his other leg across and kept his hands planted on the first tree.

"Oh dear," he said, feeling he'd only made the situation worse. "I'm stuck, aren't I. Yes, yes I am. Great job, John, excellent, you've landed yourself in the worst situation possibly imaginable under the circumstances." That was when the lightning crackled through the sky and the clap of thunder could be heard. A second later the rain began falling on him in huge and unforgiving drops. He was soaked in a matter of moments. "I should never say that! Why would I say that?! It's the worst possible thing I could do!"

He looked down with resignation and jumped a mile when he saw the savage woman below him. He lost his footing and would have fallen if she hadn't prodded him up onto the long and thick branch of the tree he had been trying to reach. She joined him on it, looking at him with an expression that quite plainly said that she thought he was an idiot. Fantastic. Now the monkey woman was judging _him_.

John took several steps backward until he felt his spine hit the upward tree trunk behind him. The woman moved forward - on all fours, walking at least partially on her knuckles - until their faces were inches apart.

"Could you please - er - not come so close?" He said quietly, rather unnerved by her unfaltering gaze. Was she smelling him? She grabbed one of his feet rather unexpectedly, and it was only then that he even realised he had lost one of his boots during their fleeing from the baboons. "Ah, no, not the feet-" The moment her fingers touched the underside of his foot, he couldn't help but start laughing because he was so ticklish. His reaction seemed to confuse her, so she put the foot back down, apparently satisfied with it. "Now, if you could, like a good little wild woman, perhaps stay just a bit further away-" Quite contrary to his plea, she leaned in again until she was close enough that he could count her eyelashes. Her hand reached out and touched his cheek with a surprising gentleness. He could feel the callouses on her palms.

One thing that was mildly comforting was that she at least seemed as wary about the whole thing as he was. But he couldn't be sure why that was.

For the first time, he properly looked at her. Under all the dirt which caked some of her hair and streaked her skin, she was actually rather pretty. Her nose was curved and elegant and her chin regal, and the fact that he could even think that under the circumstances really was a mystery. There was also a curiosity and determination in her eyes he had to admire. Her body - and he had to fight the urge to blush - was well muscled but still smaller than his both in height and girth. She was wearing the least amount of clothes he had ever seen on a woman, if you could call them clothes. Luckily, while tattered and plain, the loincloth and breast band did save her from complete lack of modesty and him from utter embarrassment. And while her hips were narrow, her legs were shapely enough that he had to pointedly bring his gaze back to her face where it belonged.

She grabbed his hand, and he watched with bemusement as she held it up against her open one, palm to palm, with their fingers perfectly aligned. Something passed through her eyes that he couldn't read, but it was indescribably powerful, he knew that much.

_Unless...what if she's never seen another human being before? _He thought. Suddenly, it all made much more sense and explained her reaction. Yes, that had to be it.

Their hands stayed connected like that, and the woman's eyes lifted to his, shining with what looked to be tears. Slowly she let her hand drop. She shuffled in closer and pressed her ear to his chest. After a moment of being apparently satisfied with his heartbeat, she grabbed his head and pressed it over the left side of her own chest. John felt himself turn completely red but knew that her intention almost definitely lay in the heartbeat so he tried to relax as much as possible and listen to the steady thumping of her heart. For some strange reason, the hollow rhythm did actually make him feel a little better about the whole situation, insane as it all was.

"That's a very nice heartbeat," he said slowly, pushing away from her gently but with enough force to be sure he would actually get out of her grip, "Good job. Definitely keep it."

She tilted her head to the side, considering something, before hesitantly saying with a wobble in her voice, "Keep it."

"Did you just-" He could feel his mouth hanging open. "Can you speak? I didn't think so, but then again what would I know about wild women in these parts anyway-" She clapped a hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up. Then, slowly, she brought her hands to her chest and slapped it gently.

"A - lay - a." When he showed no sign of understanding, she repeated the gesture. "A - lay - a."

"Oh…" Her name, of course! "A...lay...a."

"Aliya."

"Aliya."

A huge smile broke out on her face and she half jumped in her excitement. Then, she leaned in and made a noise that sounded encouraging. Her hands indicated him this time.

"Oh, right," John said, nodding.

"Ohright," Aliya repeated, beaming again. She slapped her hands on her chest. "Aliya…" Her hand touched his shoulder. "Ohright." She seemed so pleased, but he had to shake his head.

"No, no, sorry, I'm John."

"No, no, sorry, I'm John." Her mimicking was certainly worthy of admiration, but it was not helping their cause.

"No." He sighed and gestured very grandly to himself. "John." He reached his hands out to her. "Aliya." He touched his chest. "John."

"John," she said, slowly, and he nodded. "John." Her hand touched his cheek again, just for a moment. The rain that had so quickly soaked their hair into clumps and plastered their clothes to their skin suddenly came to a stop around them. A gunshot went off in the distance.

"Harry," he said, sighing again. She scrambled to the edge and leant out on a vine to look at the shot that had been fired above the tree line.

"Harry," she repeated.

"You know, you're rather good at this," he told her, even though he knew she couldn't understand him. The compliment seemed due anyway. "Look, could you take me back to my camp?"

Aliya mimicked the gunshot noise. "Harry," she said, rather sounding like she was asking him.

"Yes, yes, exactly."

Without another word, she had scooped him up and they were flying through the trees at an incredibly reckless rate once more. It didn't take them long to touch down in the camp, where a bunch of gorillas plus an elephant had seemingly half wrecked the place.

But gorillas! John couldn't care less about the camp in that moment. Next to him, Aliya had gone back to her odd, monkey-like way of walking across ground and had taken off towards the group, making earnest noises that had to be her way of communicating with them. One of the gorillas spotted her and started ambling towards her too. They met in the middle and rolled around in the dirt like wrestling brothers, letting out peals of what could only be joy and fondness.

"She's one of them," he whispered, as the truth that had been somewhat obvious all along was made crystal clear. But her gorilla friend noticed John and stopped, no longer looking happy but unsure and wary. It was very similar to Aliya's initial reaction, with the fascination as well. It crept closer, staring at him. He reached out a hand to touch it when he noticed how Aliya and the gorillas had all stiffened.

Hot breath on his neck made him turn around only to see the biggest gorilla rationally imaginable right behind him. He yelled with surprise and scrambled behind Aliya unabashedly. The huge gorilla roared and most of them made for the trees, including the ones who had arrived with the large male. John watched them go, and stepped back as a soft featured brown gorilla grabbed Aliya by the arm and pulled her away.

John met her eyes and could see reluctance in them, but she went all the same. All he could do was stare at her hastily retreating form and curse the fact that he was wishing she had stayed.

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**I really really hope this lived up to your guys' expectations! I really enjoyed writing this chapter because wow Daliya withdrawals (though the new arc in IBTS should help fix that a bit :P). **

**Reviews and feedback are much appreciated!**

**-MayFairy :) **


	5. Aliya: To Hell With It

**Very short chapter, sorry. But the next one will be nice and long with her going into the camp and stuff, promise. **

**Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! Love you guys. :)**

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"Everyone, we will avoid the strangers. Do not let them see you and do not seek them out."

Kerchak's booming voice echoed through the gorilla nest. All the gorillas were making it very clear that they agreed with him. Aliya, however, did not.

How could she not seek out the only creatures she had ever seen that resembled her? That John, his hand had matched up to hers, his heart beaten in the same way. And when their eyes had held each other's...she'd gotten the most peculiar feeling in her stomach, as if she wanted to be sick but also wanted to run the course of the jungle multiple times just because she could. She just had to make the others see that.

"They mean us no harm, Kerchak!" She protested.

"Aliya, I don't know that."

"But I do, I've been around them, even managed to communicate with one a little."

Kerchak scowled at her. "You may be willing to risk our safety, but I'm not."

She couldn't help but take it as a personal offense, him being so wary of those who looked like her. The injustice of it all rose in her chest. "Why are you so threatened by anyone different?" She yelled.

"Protect this family, and stay away from them!"

That was the end of it, and as they all separated, Kala caught up to Aliya. "Just this once, listen to Kerchak," her mother said, her large eyes pleading.

Aliya just shut her eyes, trying to sift through the conflicted feelings rushing through her like simultaneous hurricanes. "Why didn't you tell me there were others like me?" She finally said, softly enough to show her hurt but with the edge that conveyed her anger.

Kala didn't answer quickly enough, and Aliya just snorted and turned and launched herself into the jungle.

To hell with Kerchak, she had to see them again.

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**I am all too aware that unfortunately a lot of Aliya's character here is coming from Tarzan, but next chapter we will start to see her personality emerge a lot more. Thanks for reading, feedback is appreciated!**

**-MayFairy :) **

**p.s. I am in the middle of the busiest two weeks of my life schoolwise so please excuse erratic updating. **

Anonymous Review Replies:

_RandomW - _thanks, that is great to hear. her personality will become more prominent from next chapter onwards, and then I will be interested to see your thoughts on her. Thanks for reviewing! :)


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